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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Tom Blow

Decision made on Anthony Taylor refereeing Chelsea again after petition and Thomas Tuchel plea

Anthony Taylor is expected to continue refereeing Chelsea games following Sunday's controversial 2-2 draw between the Blues and Tottenham at Stamford Bridge.

Taylor came under fire after Chelsea were denied fouls in the build up to both Tottenham goals. Around 45 seconds before Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg's equaliser, Kai Havertz was denied a free kick when Rodrigo Bentancur caught his ankle with a strong sliding challenge.

Then, during the corner before Harry Kane's equaliser, Spurs defender Cristian Romero was not punished for pulling Marc Cucurella's hair. VAR did check the decision and the following corner was allowed to be taken, allowing Kane to score in the last minute.

Tuchel was furious with Taylor's performance, even if the rest of the officiating team - including VAR - should take some responsibility for the decisions. When asked if Taylor shouldn't officiate another Chelsea game, Tuchel said: "Maybe that would be better.

"I don't think that, some of the fans think that. I can assure you that the whole dressing room, every single person thinks that. The players know what’s going on and they’re on the pitch."

But, as first reported by the Daily Mail, the Professional Game Management Officials (PGMOL) are not expected to stand down Taylor from Chelsea games. He won't referee a Blues game in the near future as referees don't officiate the same team in a short space of time.

Anthony Taylor is expected to continue refereeing Chelsea games (Getty Images)

Do you think Anthony Taylor got the big calls right on Sunday? Let us know in the comments below!

Yet there isn't thought to be a plan to remove Taylor from Chelsea games full stop. It's believed key refereeing decisions in the Premier League will be scrutinised by a new independent panel, with the findings provided to all 20 member clubs.

Taylor, 43, is a FIFA listed referee and has taken charge of many big games since he joined the Premier League in 2010 - including the Championship play-off final, UEFA Super Cup and Nations League final. He is expected to officiate at this year's World Cup.

Taylor was in charge of Chelsea's EFL Cup final win against Tottenham in 2015. He was also the man in the middle for their Community Shield and FA Cup final defeats in 2015 and 2017 respectively, both at the hands of Arsene Wenger's Arsenal.

More than 136,000 people have signed an online petition to have Taylor banned from officiating Chelsea games. The organisers of the petition have highlighted several controversial refereeing decisions dating back several years, not just Sunday's calls.

"Anthony Taylor has continued to make big decisions against Chelsea over the years in big matches," claim the organisers of the petition. "Taylor has an agenda against Chelsea and should not be allowed to referee a game involving the club again."

Speaking to Sky Sports, former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher believes Havertz deserved a free kick for Bentancur's strong challenge, but VAR can't go back that far. He did, however, claim the second goal should've been chalked off due to the hair pull.

"I think the VAR should intervene," said Gallagher. "I'm not sure the referee has seen it, I think he looks down but I think he does it instinctively. I think he watches the flight of the ball. He does look down, but I think it has already happened.

"The VAR has the perfect look. As soon as I saw it, I said, 'I think he is going to get a red card here, he's pulled him down by the hair'. I anticipated the VAR sending Anthony Taylor to the screen. I know for a fact that if Anthony had been sent to the screen, he would have given a red card and a free-kick to Chelsea."

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